Greetings from the Plateau Country of Northwestern Colorado!
For the past 11 years I have lived in the small rural town of Craig
(pop. 9000) with my wonderful wife Sheryl, a 1st Grade teacher
at Sunset Elementary School; our precious daughter Sierra who is
six and in first grade, and our darling, beautiful and very
energetic 18 month old twins, Nolan and Isabella.

I am teaching
Earth Science, General College Chemistry, Algebra-based
College Physics, and General Astronomy.
During the summers, I instruct a Physical Geology class (a better time
to take our fieldtrips), and in past years, I have also taught Chemistry 1, and
Integrated Science.

Since 2004, I have been an active member of NASA's
Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers (NEAT) program and through the sponsorship
of the Educator Astronaut Program, I have had the opportunity to participate
and attend the following workshops and conferences; U.S. Space
and Rocket Center and the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in
Hunstville, Alabama (Oct 2004); Kansas Cosmosphere, Hutchinson,
Kansas (April 2005); Kennedy Space Center, Florida (June 2005);
and Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (July 2006). As a NEAT
member we are asked to conduct numerous outreach activities to area school
students, classes, service organizations, parents, teachers and
administrators. In
2006, I was part of 13 outreach activities that had 1,917 students, teachers,
and community members attending. Most
of my outreach activities usually coincide with some astronomical event (Mercury
Transit, ISS Flyover, Orbiter Launch, Conjunction of planets, Meteor Showers,
etc...) this allows anyone who wants to, to peer through one of our six telescopes,
and since we live in a very remote area, the nighttime sky is perfect; clear,
high altitude, very little light pollution.

For me like most of us, teaching
is a livelihood. I have come from an entire family of teachers that believes
that education is a life-long learning process. Most importantly, I view
teaching as being an educator in training. You can never acquire
enough information, nor can you stop the learning process. I love
being a life-long learner. Seeking new opportunities, asking questions
about the future, or seeing what is currently thought as being
the leading edge of science and technology. I learn something new
every day, and I challenge my students to do the same. What a wonderful
opportunity this experience will be!